Nine out of 11 elevated stations of HCMC’s metro line No.1 will be connected with bus stations and residential areas via overpasses.
The overpasses are under construction to link with Tan Cang, Thao Dien, An Phu, Rach Chiec, Phuoc Long, Binh Thai, Thu Duc, the Saigon Hi-Tech Park and HCMC National University stations.
Most of those stations lie along the Hanoi Highway in Thu Duc City.
Each overpass stretches around 78m long and 3.5m wide to link the stations with bus stations and residential areas by crossing the highway to allow passengers to easily walk in and out of the metro stations without having to cross the busy street.
All overpasses will have roofs and plants along both sides.
The HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), which manages the metro project, said the nine overpasses will be completed late this year, which matches the completion schedule of the metro line.
Costs to build the overpasses will come from the fund to build the metro.
The MAUR said last December that parking lots with a capacity of 500 motorbikes would also be built near the stations.
The remaining two elevated stations will be connected with Van Thanh overpass in Binh Thanh District and Suoi Tien overpass in front of Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc City.
HCMC’s first metro line will run 19.7 km from Ben Thanh Market to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City. It will feature 14 stations, with all three underground ones in District 1.
Work on the line started in 2012. After many delays, the project is now expected to start operation later this year. The costs have risen from VND17.4 trillion to about VND43.7 trillion (US$1.89 billion).
